Attachable swimmer&#39;s device.



JOHN O. MASSEY. 0F PROVIDENCE. RHODE ISLAND.

ATTACHABLE SWIMMERS DEVICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 8; 1911.

Applieation filed July 26. 1910. Serial No. 573.848.

to be secured upon the lower portion of each leg of a swunmer, and the olnee'ts m v1cw are to provide means whereby an merease of speed may he obtained by a person while swimming. and to al l a swimmer [E1 making a treading movement m the water.

My invention ronsists of 'a small .un'

- said hand upon the straps Each strap hrella-shaped devire designed to he secured near to earh anlwof a SWIIHItN-E'.

and so eonstrurted that as one leg is lmmght forward in the water the devire is ra'ttsed to (lose to a collapsed eonditiou upon that'leg. and while the other leg is tort-ed rearward f is separated to permi the hand A to encirthe devire on this leg is raused to he brought to a full open eondition and disp rse a large area. of :au'faee rover of the devime to llll'|l\i against the water hy the swimmer and whet-eh inerease of speed in uiwlflin-ltl in swimming. or to aid in making treading movement in the water.

In the aerompanving sheet of drawings. Figure 1 represents a plan set-lion taken on linear-.1. of Fig. 3. showing my deviee in pen position and the ends of its ntver lured together. as a lter the devire is sa ored upon the leg of a swiuuner. Fig. 2 is r. plan view f the (-ollapsihle frame of the dev iz-e. Fig. 3 is a vertiral set-iional view of the drvire taken on line I/.-]/. of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 illustrates my devire as applied to the leg of :1 swimmer. Fig. 5 is a partial view. in ne 'tail, of one of the ribs of the frame.

Like referenee rharat'ters indirate like parts.

The frame of my devire Consist of a thin metal hand \\ltl('l) is divided in halves a. u and hinged together. as at nseries of U-shaped pit -es l: are made fast upon eat-h hall of the hand A. and said pita-es are divided equidistautly apart tln r g'hout the eirrle of the latter and eat-h pit-.1- is pro vided with a pin eonnertion (Z to receive the inner end of ribs 4:. 1' having eaeh shoulder 1" to impinge against the bottom of eat-h piece I). in the manner shown in Fig. 5., and the free. or outer end of (:N'll rib e is perforated to lctfilvn a cord f. ()1: Ellis frame,

as deserihed is secured a cover 7. of can: vas or other suitahle material. and the ends of this rover projet't from the free ends of the halves o. a and are'provided with evelets to reeeiv': a loving h for uniting the end portionsof the rover together. after the device has heen mounted upon the leg of a swimmer. in the manner shown in Fig. 1.

Two straps 1'. 1' are secured eentrallv upon the inner surface of each frame-half a. and said straps project above and below the latter. as shown in Fig. 3.- On the free upper ends of the straps i. 2' is secured a transverse strap j: a seeond transverse strap ll: is serured on the frame-hand A. and a third transverse strap i is secured at a point below (do the lower portion of the calf of the leg and the strap is used to seeure the framehalves together. next. the strap'l is secured upon the angle. and finally the straps 1'. 2'- are seem-ed together against the hall of the foot, in the manner shown in Fig.

lo the construction of the frame, the shoulder a. formed on oath rih e. is to overeome the rearward pressure of the. devire when open to its normal position in the water. as shown in Fig. 4. and at the same time prevent the frame from turning inside out. A shoulder is also formed in the luzttom of eaeh U-shaped pieee I). as at e" in Fig. in order to limit the closing movement of the deviee and prevent any of its rihs from striking against the leg. as after the frame has collapsed to the position of parts indieated by dotted lines in Fig. 3.

By practical demonstration I provide a device of this eharaeter that contains in itself all that. is neressarv to atl'ord a great increase of speed in swimming and without any extra exertion required on the part of a. swimmer. and at the same time a deviee that. ma v he used to great advantage in making a. treading movement in the water in giving aid to support a person from drownin".

Furthermore. by my construction and ar-- ming. as it lessens fear of drowning, is light.

and buoyant, and is a device that is inexpensive to manufacture.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters-Patent, is:-

In a swimming device, the combination with a metallic frame comprising the band A which is divided in halves to encircle the ankle and each half hinged together, as at a, a series of U-shaped members, as b, b. se-

cured to the band-halves and each member having a shoulder e", a frame comprising ribs 0 pivotally connected to the bifurcated portion of each member I) and each rib provided with a shoulder, as e, to bear against; the bottom of each member and thereby limit the expansive movement of the frame, of a cover 9 secured to the ribs e and sur- 

